Running shoe 'will think like the human brain'

It has been described as "Jesse Owens meets the Jetsons": a shoe that thinks, reacts and remembers like the human brain.

It has been described as "Jesse Owens meets the Jetsons": a shoe that thinks, reacts and remembers like the human brain.

After three years of testing and development under a shroud of secrecy, sportswear giant Adidas will next month unveil the trainer that, it hopes, will revolutionise the world of running.

Known simply as the Adidas 1, the groundbreaking sneaker will be marketed as "the world's first intelligent shoe". The trainer uses an inbuilt microprocessor stronger than the first Apple Mac to adapt to conditions during a run - responding to the speed and power exerted by its wearer, as well as the terrain underfoot. A small motor-driven cable system changes the shape and cushioning level of the trainer accordingly.

The trainer has already got pulses racing on both sides of the Atlantic, with a number of sports stores in New York reported to have sold out of the product more than a fortnight before shipments have even arrived.

The shoe, which will retail at £175, will hit the high street in good time for the London marathon in April.

Dr Ned Frederick, a biomechanics expert and lecturer at the University of Massachusetts, who was involved in the development of Nike's revolutionary "Air" technology during the 1980s, described the Adidas 1 as "an incredible leap forward".

Steven Seaton, editor of Runners' World, said: "It has performed very well in technical tests, but it's seriously heavy. This shoe is not built for speed."